Childish Gambino debuted ‘This Is America’ on SNL this weekend and the track has been lauded for the serious issues it delves into. To emphasise the importance of the new single, he deleted everything but the track from his Instagram and Twitter accounts.
Racism, gun violence, police brutality, protests, suicide and prioritising dance fads and other trivial things over these huge issues prevalent in society, are major problems Donald Glover tackles in the video.
The juxtapositions of shootings and dancing in the video make for chilling watching but provide a terrifyingly accurate account of life in the country that is supposedly ‘the leader of the free world.’
An entire semester could be spent decoding the layers in this video, which is a damning portrayal of life in America. This writer doesn’t have the time to do the video justice with the extensive decode it requires, so the droves of celebrities applauding Donald Glover’s latest work can contextualise how important it is instead.
Speechless. #ThisIsAmerica (Indeed)
— Be A King (@BerniceKing) May 7, 2018
Martin Luther King Jr’s daughter, Bernice King, was rendered speechless by the video.
Adele remarked, “Childish Gambino how the hell do you have time to offer us so much greatness on so many platforms. I adore you x”
Hozier tweeted, “New Childish Gambino video is absolutely game breaking. My God.”
New Childish Gambino video is absolutely game breaking. My God.
— Hozier (@Hozier) May 6, 2018
Terry Crews commented “UNBELIEVABLE SIR! Don’t STOP ????????????????????????????”
“Wow Epic! ????????????????????????”, Lewis Hamilton posted under the video.
Diplo couldn’t muster any words but commented, “☢☢☢☢????????????????????”
Childish Gambino. From his show Atlanta to his music and new video. All around incredible. https://t.co/yooD3AHxir
— Bruno Mars (@BrunoMars) May 7, 2018
Bruno Mars cited the artist as an inspiration tweeting, “Childish Gambino. From his show Atlanta to his music and new video. All around incredible.”
Janelle Monáe kept her praise succint tweeting, “Donald . Glover .”, and “Childish . Gambino .”
Childish . Gambino .
— Janelle Monáe, Cindi (@JanelleMonae) May 6, 2018
Naomi Campbell commented “Yes Donald ????????????????????????” on his Instagram clip.
Kevin Hart also expressed his support for the artist’s work on Instagram, “???????????????? Keep killing them man!!!!!”
Trent Renzor from the Nine Inch Nails said, “I can’t remember the last time I watched a music video all the way to the end, let alone one five times in a row. Incredible work! #ThisIsAmerica”
I can’t remember the last time I watched a music video all the way to the end, let alone one five times in a row. Incredible work! #ThisIsAmerica
— Trent Reznor (@trent_reznor) May 6, 2018
Emily Ratajowski simply commented “Yes” under the snippet Childish Gambino shared on Instagram.
Kanye West endorsed the masterpiece by retweeting the music video. Many have viewed this as controversial given his recent comments about slavery being a “choice”.
Nicole Richie posted a still from the video on her own Instagram saying, “Watch. Cry. Repeat. Holy Shit. #ThisIsAmerica ????????”
Watch the full video here.
